Feeding fish and coral question-new tank

[quaffin1]

Hello all:
Have a new tank, about 6 weeks old, LR and LS. Tank cycled in about 3 weeks, we checked water parameters almost daily.
75 gallon with 90#LR sump w/ ASM G2 skimmer
SG 1.024
pH 8.18
temp 79
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate -sometimes 0, sometimes trace
Alk 11
Ca 300
We just recently started adding a few things, couldn't stand it anymore.
Slight growth of green algea and some brown looking algea.
Algea, Got me worried so put these in about 10 days ago.
Added 1 lawnmower blenny and 1 cleaner shrimp; with snail and crab cleaner crew (dozen each)
All well, may have lost 1 snail as I see hermit wearing new shell. we put in several empty shells after this. shrimp molted the other day.
This weekend we added maroon clown and royal gramma.
yellow polyps and purple mushroom.
Water parameters still same.
My questions:
I have been told by LFS, mix formula 1 flakes w/ tank water add small chunk of frozen mysis shrimp and squirt of garlic extract. Keep in refrig. Use turkey baster and add small amount (1/4 oz)to tank about every couple days. Is this a good plan?
yellow polyps, I understand need to be fed, I have some phytoplankton in refrig. Should I add a small capful weekly, and try to direct it over the polyps.
Or do they like meaty foods. I squirted a couple mysis shrimp their way and I watched them take the shrimp in.
Guy at LFS said I should supplement a couple drops of iodine weekly to promote coral health, no so much need currently but when I start adding more coral, right or wrong?
Since I don't have any calcificating coral I plan to stop trying to supplement Ca. for awhile and see where Alk and Ca. settle down to naturally for about a month, good plan??
Thanks for any direction..

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by quaffin1
Hello all:
Have a new tank, about 6 weeks old, LR and LS. Tank cycled in about 3 weeks, we checked water parameters almost daily.
75 gallon with 90#LR sump w/ ASM G2 skimmer
SG 1.024
pH 8.18
temp 79
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate -sometimes 0, sometimes trace
Alk 11
Ca 300
We just recently started adding a few things, couldn't stand it anymore.
Slight growth of green algea and some brown looking algea.
Algea, Got me worried so put these in about 10 days ago.
Added 1 lawnmower blenny and 1 cleaner shrimp; with snail and crab cleaner crew (dozen each)
All well, may have lost 1 snail as I see hermit wearing new shell. we put in several empty shells after this. shrimp molted the other day.
This weekend we added maroon clown and royal gramma.
yellow polyps and purple mushroom.
Water parameters still same.
My questions:
I have been told by LFS, mix formula 1 flakes w/ tank water add small chunk of frozen mysis shrimp and squirt of garlic extract. Keep in refrig. Use turkey baster and add small amount (1/4 oz)to tank about every couple days. Is this a good plan?
I would omit flake food completely. It tends to start releasing the nutrients into the water as soon as it gets wet. If you soaked it I would guess that most of the nutrients would end up in the water and the flakes themselves would be useless.
Mysis Shrimp is an excellent food but a variety of meaty seafood is better. Krill and Cyclop-eeze would work for variety. I blend various seafoods into bite sized pieces. Shrimp, Scallops, Silversides, etc.
Skip the Garlic in my opinion.
yellow polyps, I understand need to be fed, I have some phytoplankton in refrig. Should I add a small capful weekly, and try to direct it over the polyps.
Or do they like meaty foods. I squirted a couple mysis shrimp their way and I watched them take the shrimp in.
Yellow Polyps can't eat Phytoplankton so that's probably not a good choice. Feed small meaty pieces of seafood just like what you feed your fish. If you squirt the food at the polups when you feed the fish they can get the food that the polyps miss.
Guy at LFS said I should supplement a couple drops of iodine weekly to promote coral health, no so much need currently but when I start adding more coral, right or wrong?
Iodine does not promote coral growth. There is no documented evidence that any coral has any use for Iodine other than a few deep sea Gorgonians. There is no documented evidence that anything other than algae can use Iodine from the water column.
If you choose to dose Iodine that's fine but you need to test throughly to avoid an overdose. My view is that there's no need and if you add too much you start killing crustaceans.
Since I don't have any calcificating coral I plan to stop trying to supplement Ca. for awhile and see where Alk and Ca. settle down to naturally for about a month, good plan??
Yellow polyps and Mushroom coral require a balanced Alkalinity and Calcium to grow. Most corals use Calcium carbonate structures to form internal sclerites for support. Snails also require Calcium and Carbonate (Alkalinity) to grow. If Calcium or Alkalinity is too low their shells can actually start to dissolve.
Thanks for any direction..
My opinions are in Blue

 

[quaffin1]

Thanks BG,
your comments are very helpful, sorry not getting back. Been traveling.
I will leave the iodine alone til sometime in the future.
Will work on making my own homemade meat blend of natural seafood.
Think I have seen some recommendations on other posts.
Read a good article relating to my Calcium issues on Advanced Aquarist
I will let my Alk. fall naturally and continue to supplement Calcium and believe
that these readings will settle down.
I had been trying to buffer pH to 8.3 and probably got my Alk spiked, causing my low Ca. problem.
Thanks again for your assistance.